There was much sadness from the humans and animals in the house. Probably not so much in the chipmunk community. Everybody loved Riley even when they don’t love anyone else. Following quickly after his death was news of job instability and then the death of a close relative of a coworker.

Then came Freckles. She’s had a small mass on her eyelid for a long time. On Monday she jumped up on the chair beside me with pus running out of her eye. Her tiny mass was suddenly three times the size and there was another one beside it. That’s when I decided that the universe was just screwing with us.

I often remark that veterinarians’ animals don’t receive health care on the schedule that we recommend for clients but when they do need health care – they get HEALTH CARE. Within minutes I had appointments for her with two local ophthomologists to see who could take it off first. I saw one on Wednesday who said that he thinks it had been growing inside her eyelid the whole time and suddenly broke through. She had surgery later that day. As the husband told her that night, “Two days after the identification of a problem, you had a board-certified eye doctor doing laser surgery on you over his lunch break? I don’t get that kind of boutique medical care.”

Then there came the news of another death of a friend. People kept calling here to process their feelings about the news.

I’m ready to be done with drama for a while, please.

There are some good things that have come out of this all:

Powder and Freckles, sworn enemies at least in Powder’s mind, have become almost friendly. I’ve seen them standing beside each other on the floor near Freckles’ water bowl. This was such disputed territory that we had to give Powder her own bowl because she wouldn’t go near Freckles’. They are ok with sitting on the same large chair with me at the same time. This is major for a Powder Cat who refused to be off of the top of a wardrobe for 18 months after we brought Freckles home.

The husband’s stress levels have come down. As this chain of events started I was worried about stress affecting him but as it piled up, he actually got better. He seems to be letting go of worries a bit which is great for him.

Freckles actually didn’t act a fool during her hospital stay. She has a huge cage phobia. I was reluctant to leave her because the last time I caged her after an operation she banged her head repeatedly into the cage in an attempt to get out. I told the staff at the referral hospital my concerns. “Really. She’s an idiot,” I said while Freckles gazed up at them beautifically. They gave me the concerned pet owner speech. I told them that I was going to say I told them so. When I went to work and told the staff at my office that I left her there they said that we were never going to be able to refer to that hospital again. Meanwhile Freckles apparently was given the option to stay outside her cage and CHOSE to lay quietly on a blanket inside a cage with no histrionics at all. Thanks for making me look like a crazy pet owner.

So I’m glad that some good things have happened but I’d like to be done learning lessons for a while, please and thank you.

One Comment

My little dog had a recent bout of eyelid bumps too, but luckily hers aren’t something to really worry about (or so the Vet implies). Sometimes it just seems like when you’ve got drama going on in life, it’s all or nothing. I can relate to animals making you look crazy- my dog will act up for the vet when I don’t warn them of her Lone Ranger style upbringing, but if I do warn them, she’s perfectly behaved and the vet’s staff look at me like “Why did you whine about your dog being devilish? She’s an angel.” I think she does that just to be stubborn.
I’m glad something good came out of your situations!
~Litha Nelle